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SABOT FOUNDATIONA 501(c)(3) Charitable Trust
Update from the Founders June 30, 2020
Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic we have opted to postpone
our fullannual report and issue an abbreviated letter from the
Founders in its place.
“Supporting the combat veteran community by inspiring life-long
connections and creating awareness of the challenges
veterans face in our society.”
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Service in the Armed Forces is a physically demanding
andstressful occupation that often requires individuals to perform
avariety of rigorous and potentially dangerous activities in
amultitude of inhospitable operating environments.
Whether serving in combat operations or training
evolutions,individual service members often incur wounds, injuries
or illnessesthat have a long-term impact on their lives and ability
to continuetheir career in the Services, which follows them into
their civilianlife.
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Caring for veterans is fundamental to our core values and
servesas the foundation of our resolve to help those in need with
variousissues such as: suicide prevention, traumatic injuries,
concussiveevents and transition, in addition to PTSD and combat
deploymentstress.
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Unfortunately, substance abuse is also very common in the
veterancommunity. One study found that a third of the veterans in
theU.S. are seeking treatment for PTSD or struggle with
substancedependence. Another report from the American Public
HealthAssociation revealed that the fatal overdose rate among
VeteransAffairs patients is almost double the national average.
Doctors often prescribe opioids for pain management
&benzodiazepines for anxiety, both of which are highly
addictive.Veterans who have a track record with addiction may be
hesitantabout taking these pills therefore we offer holistic
alternatives.
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Why do we care so muchabout PTSD? Here are a fewstatistics
courtesy of the2019 National VeteranSuicide Prevention AnnualReport
which confirmed thatsuicide among veteranscontinues to be higher
thanthe rest of the population. 2019 National Veteran Suicide
Prevention Report
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If a veteran is taking pills to treat PTSD or injuries, he or
she mayalready be experiencing addictive behaviors. The signs of
addictioninclude:
However, our holistic approaches do not involve, nor do
weadvocate, the use of pills. Instead, we support and/or fund
holisticmedical treatments including Cognitive Therapy, Hemp
BasedCBD, Low Level Laser Light Therapy, Hyperbaric OxygenTherapy
and Stellate Ganglion Block. We also encourage healthylifestyles,
good nutrition, supplements, consistent exerciseregimes, and
activities that involve lots of fresh air!
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Tolerance - The prescribed dose no longer has the same effect,
they need toincreased their prescription in order to get the same
effects of the past.
Preoccupation - They show a growing interest in the amount of
medicationleft and the time it will take to refill a prescription,
and express anxiety whenthey don’t have access to medication.
Withdrawal - Feelings of irritability, restlessness, flu-like
symptoms,anxiety and confusion are experienced after the effects of
the prescriptionswear off.
Behavioral Signs - The veteran has impaired memory, slurred
speech,dilated pupils, feelings of depression, changes in sleeping
and eatingpatterns, headaches, dizziness, poor decision-making
skills and a lack ofenergy. They show irritability, aggression and
clumsiness. They withdrawfrom family, friends and their social
circle.
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In dealing with so many people over the past few years, we
cansay with a certainty that no two veterans are alike. Each
veteranpresents a distinctive set of circumstances and conditions,
afterlistening and analyzing their situation we are able to
determinewhich established Foundation program(s) they need to
ensuretheir successful transition leading to help and recovery.
Wecontinue to play a key role in utilizing available resources
toassist those veterans in need with an emphasis on each
specificissue including: events, cognitive behavior therapy,
StellateGanglion Block, Low Level Laser Therapy, CBD,
employmenttraining, Neurological Rehabilitation, Metabolic
Rehabilitation &Structural Soft Tissue Rehabilitation.
This past year we assisted severalveterans with family &
marital issues,with the majority of the situationsdealing with
separation from theirchildren. We wholeheartedly believethat a
positive relationship with theirkids is one of the keys to
fightingdepression & anxiety.
We were also able to help a handful of veterans during
theCOVID-19 pandemic, both directly with financial assistance
andindirectly, assisting them with navigating the CARES
ACT(including Unemployment Claims, SBA Loans & PPP Loans).
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For the first time this year wecommitted to sponsor a TeamUSA
USMC disabled CombatVeteran’s immediate family totravel to The
Hague for TheInvictus Games. Although the2020 Invictus Games
werepostponed due to COVID-19,
We developed a relationshipwith Oakley’s Infinite
HeroFoundation, who assisted withsets of special glasses for
acombat veteran training forInvictus Games.
the Invictus Games Foundation provided an opportunity for
allveterans to come together virtually, share in the Invictus
spirit,and pledge to the community of veterans and peers a
steadyperseverance to fight, convalesce, and lead together.
Several veterans and their families were invited to an
NHRAracing event by NHRA driver Jack Beckman, a former U.S.
AirForce Sergeant. His funny car features the insignia of the
InfiniteHero Foundation although he doesn’t have a traditional
sponsor forhis car. This new relationship is a welcome addition to
our veteranevents program.
Dentists Organized for Veterans, a 501(c)(3), is a vital partner
forour foundation. DOV has serviced veterans for us by
providing100% free Dental Care to low income veterans. One
Veteranreceived $27,000 worth of free dental work. It is our desire
to helpprovide grant assistance to them given the importance of
theprogram.
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Through the dozens of events we have hosted, we have
discoveredthat group-based nature recreation experiences can
havesignificant positive impacts on veterans struggling with
serioushealth problems. This approach is especially intriguing
sincemany veterans may find nature recreation programs
moreappealing than conventional clinical treatments. Engaging
inactivities outdoors that involve physical challenge,
fun,camaraderie, and achievement of an objective may resonate
withtypes of experiences that make military service highly
meaningfuland rewarding. Roatan was selected because of the wide
range ofwater activities which we could convert into therapeutic
waterprograms.
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We remain dedicated toproviding therapies thatheal. Through the
directassistance of a donor wehad the ability to send agroup of
veterans to Roatanfor a week long retreat, thisevent involved a
variety ofwater activities including:engaging with dolphins,diving,
snorkeling, jet skis,fishing, boating, reef andmangrove
exploration, and local engagements. These eventsempower wounded
service members, veterans and their familiesthrough health,
wellness & therapeutic support.
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As service members continue the fight on multiple fronts,
manyare experiencing Traumatic Brain Injuries and associated
PostTraumatic Stress Disorder from combat-related blasts. More
than750,000 of our troops and families are affected, and sadly,
most arenot getting access to the treatment they need to heal the
actualbrain injury! Instead, symptoms are being addressed
withmedication (pills) while the source of the problem goes
untreated.
Our 5 year plan includes facilitating and/or opening a
specializedHolistic Rehabilitation Facility in order to serve a
broader range ofveterans in need. These would be located in Los
Angeles & VenturaCounties, and potentially in San Bernardino
& Riverside Counties.
Since our main programs are holistic and medically
related,finances are integral to our ability to continue helping
veterans inneed. The goal of our Foundation is to prevent
unnecessary delays,reduce anxiety, and ensure the best possible
outcome. We have theability to develop a Comprehensive Assistance
platform. Althoughwe are not medical personnel, we are able to
recognize keybehavioral health issues. The more knowledge we have,
the betteradvocates we can be for veterans and their families.
Veteran’s withbehavioral health issues are often poor
self-advocates and thereforeit is imperative that we advocate on
their behalf when it comes tobehavioral health support and
services.
It is essential that we continue to solicit donations and
assistanceso that we may expand and introduce current and future
programsas well as offer additional help to veterans in a
combination ofplatforms we offer. We salute everyone who has
supported ourFoundation by volunteering their time and/or funds to
help usachieve our mission of helping veterans in need.
The Sabot Foundation Founders,
Hammond Meredith & Jon Krashna
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